Process of renovating cane seats.



1. MACN. WILSON Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

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PROCESS OF RENOVATING CANE SEATS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24. I914- RENEWED MAR. 8, 1917- I 1,243,474Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

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Specificatidn of Lettersfiatent.

Patented @cta 16, 1917.

duplication filed June 24, 1814, Serial No. 846,913. Renewed. ital-ch 8,1917. serial No. 153,457.

To all whom it may concern: J

Be it mown that 1, JOHN MAONAULL Wnson, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes ofRenovating Cane Seats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a process and apparatus for bleaching andrenewing materials of vegetable fiber, such as articles made of straw,cane and similar materials and relates particularly to the treatment ofarticles such as car seats made of woven strips of cane.

Heretofore in treating articles of the class described, it has beencustomary first to subject the article to a preliminary scrubhing orbrushing or to the action of a vacuum cleaner in order to remove looseparticles of dirt or dust which may adhere to the car seat. The seat isthen dipped in a vat of cleansing liquid which is permitted to soak intothe material in order to soften the shellac or varnish with which theseat has been finished. Necessarily, this liquid is corrosive incharacter and very detrimental to the springs and other metal parts usedin the construction of the seat. It is also harmful to the cane, sinceit gains access to the inner and untreated surface of the cane and thuspenetrates and soaks into the cane. The seat is then scrubbed or brushedmanually to remove the shellac or varnish that may have penetrated thecane. Following this, the seat is rinsed in water and is then allowed todrain, usually for a number of hours. Finally, the seat is placed in adrying room in order that it may become thoroughly dry preparatory tobeing restained or revarnished as the case may be, the whole operationas last described requiring two or three days.

According to my improved process, the seat or cushion is cleaned, thestains and a uniform quantity of the shellac or varnish is removed andthe cane bleached and practically dried so that the seat is ready toreceive a finishing coat of shellac or varnish in a practicallycontinuous operation, requiring but a few minutes of time, withoutsoamng the cane or other material, and without subjecting the springs orother metal parts to the action of any corrosive or other liquidwhatever.

In carrying out my improved process, the liquid which removes thestains, grease and foreign matter, together with a sufiicient portion ofthe shellac or varnish, if present, to give the seat a uniformappearance when bleached, is preferably applied tothe surface of aninverted seat in the form of a spray forming a practically uniform filmover the surface without penetrating into the pores of the material. Ifdesired, the seat may be subjected to a preliminary brushing orscrubbing by means of a suitable brush, although such preliminary stepis seldom necessary because the loose dirt and dust is removed, togetherwith the renovating liquid. Almost immediately after the spray of liquidhas been applied to the surface, it is subjected to the action of afriction device operating at high speed, preferably a brush comprisingrelatively stifi bristles or fine soft wire and rotating at a speedupward of two thousand revolutions per minute, whereby an extremelyrapid and vigorous scrubbing action is exerted against the material, notonly on the overlapping portions of the weave, but also on the depressedportions thereof. The seat or other article being treated is alternatelysubjected to the action of the brush and liquid spray, and then to thebrush alone until all of the renovating fluid has been removed and thesurface is practically dry. 'lhereupon the seat receives a bleachingliquid, which preferably is applied by means of a rotating brush havingits bristles continuously moistened by any suitable means as a sprayarranged adjacent to the surface thereof. The bristles of this brush aresufficiently soft to apply the bleach uniformly over the entiresurface,and owing to the fact that the seat has just been cleaned, the bleach isreadily distributed and absorbed. After a suihcient quantity of bleachhas been applied, the brush is then sprayed with Water or other liquidto remove or neutralize any excess of the bleach. As soon as thisresult/has been accomplished, the water is turned 0d and the seat issubjected to the same action for, a slightly longer period until it-ispractically dry. The drying requires a comparatively short an end viewof the maon the top of the frame, said rollers being of a predeterminedsize relative to the diameter of the brush so that any article restingupon the rollers will be caused to engage with the bristles of thebrush. The rollers are arranged at suitable intervals with relation toeach other to permit reciprocation of the seat or the article beingtreated with respect to each of the brushes, if desired.

Adjacent to each of the rollers are one or more nozzles or outletswhereby a liquid may be supplied either to the surface under treatmentin the form of a spray or directly upon the brush. Preferably each brushis provided with a nozzle 4 and a spray pipe 5. The nozzles and spraypipes are connected with suitable reservoirs or supply tanks 6'permitting the liquid contained therein to be placed under pressure. Thequantity of liquid supplied to. the spray pipes or nozzles is controlledin any suitable manner, as by the valves 7.

The brushes are driven at a high speed of rotation in any suitablemanner, as by the belts 8 and the pulleys 9. It is obvious, however,that any other form of high speed driving means may be employed ifdesired.

In order to treat seats of considerable length, I provide special means,as shown in Fig. 1, whereby the whole length of the seat may be treatedby one brush before being subjected to the action of the second.Referring to Fig. 1, the frame is provided with transverse rollers 10having their axes perpendicular to the axes of the brushes. A

suitable arm or bracket may be provided on the frame or a separatesupport may be provided for that portion of the seat which extendsbeyond the edges of the frame. The seat is reciprocated transversely tothe frame but parallel to the face of the brush until the treatment withrespect to said brush is fully completed.

By means of this construction, the bleaching of any article such as acane seat and the treatment preparatory to such bleaching can be carriedout and completed on a single machine in a comparatively short space oftime, constituting practically a continmea re applied to the seat in oneoperation. It is obvious of course, that the several steps of V theprocess may be employed upon totally distinct and separate machines andby various forms of apparatus other than the particular apparatus hereinset forth and described,

Although I have described my improved process and-apparatus particularlywith respect .to cane seats such as are used in railway cars, it will beevident that any similar articles may be treated in like manner withsimilar results, and that various changes and modifications, both in theprocess and apparatus, within the knowledge of those skilled in the art,may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, providedthe means set forth in the following claims be employed.

I claim as my invent1on:

1. The process of treating cane seats which consists in supplyin arenovating liquid, thereto in. the form 0 spray to cause a film of therenovating liquid to be deposited on the surface, subjecting saidsurface to the action of a rapidly revolving brush simultaneously toscrub the surface and remove the liquid therefrom, drying said surfaceby continuous application of the brush, applying a bleachin liquid tosaid surface by means of a rapid y rotating brush moistened with thebleaching liquid, then neutralizing the bleaching solution and dryingthe surface.

2. The process of bleaching and renewing surfaces containing vegetablefiber which consists in supplying a corrosive liquid thereto in the formof a film deposited on the surface, subjecting said surface to theaction of a rapidly revolving brush while the liquid is being supplied,continuing treatment by the brush after the supply of liquid has beendiscontinued to remove excess liquid, and then neutralizing the actionof the remaining corrosive liquid by applying a non-corrosive liquid tothe surface without permitting penetration of such liquid beneath thesurface of the seat.

3. The process of bleaching and renewing surfaces containing vegetablefiber which consists in supplying a corrosive liquid thereto in the formof a film deposited on the inverted surface of the article beingtreated, subjecting said inverted sur- Signed at Newark in the county ofEssex face to the action of a rapidly revolving and State of New Jerseythis eighteenth brush to remove a portion of the liquid day of June A.D. 1914.

therefrom, partially drying said surface JOHN MACNAULL WILSON. e andthen applying a non-corrosive liquid to Witnesses:

said surface by means of a rapidly rotating OHAs. C. GUNTERBERG,

brush and then drying said surface. HERMAN LAUMANN.

